Media Day Speech

Good morning, and welcome to the Fifth Annual Insert Media Day. We have a great program today and I hope everyone is excited to get started. I’ll introduce today’s speakers shortly, but first I wanted to take a few moments to discuss the state of our industry.

As you all know, the business we enjoy today dates back more than 50 years. It was a time when a “world wide web” was something that might appear in a 1950s horror movie about a giant spider. Over the years, the creativity of industry pioneers, and today the people in this room, has driven the use of existing distribution systems to carry third-party advertisements.

As our industry has changed, so have the needs of marketers. The number of avenues to deliver information – direct mail, print media, broadcast media and especially today, the Internet – has resulted in an ongoing campaign to find new and increasingly effective ways to reach customers. Still, at the end of the day, one thing remains constant – insert media works. It reaches customers and drives traffic both to the Web and retail stores.

Of course, it’s impossible to deny the impact the Internet has had on insert media. And with that, it’s an important time for members of the insert media business to shift away from idealism and adopt a new realism.

Fortunately, prevailing wisdom indicates the Internet will have a positive impact on the future of insert media. In fact, several recent studies indicate that today’s fragmented market, which includes the explosion of the Internet as an advertising medium, has not resulted in any significant downturn for insert media. And the growing trend of “banner blindness” shows that web surfers increasingly are tuning out online advertising banners.

Further, today’s soft economy, matched with declining postal response rates and increasing postal expenses, also bodes well for a strong and profitable future.

In the sense of realism I mentioned a few seconds ago, it is important to note that growth rates likely will not match those witnessed in previous years, but rest assured growth will continue. Specific markets we can look to include the adoption of insert media by big-name companies, growth in the Hispanic community and the adoption of insert media by dot-com companies. Even these companies realize that while customers may shop online, they still have a package they need to get out the door; and that presents another ideal opportunity to communicate with a customer.

Joining us today to take a more in-depth look at the factors affecting insert media today are several industry veterans and we’re honored to have their participation. Delivering the keynote address a little after noon is Dr. Carol Osborn. Dr. Osborn is a senior vice president with Fleishman-Hillard, where she co-chairs the marketing-to-boomers practice.

Beginning the day and delivering the opening keynote is Kristin Sullivan-Stoesser with Tribune Media Net. She’ll be speaking about a process for increasing the impact of direct mail while avoiding the complications of postage and traditional mail delivery.

Following Kristin will be a panel discussion about integrating a DRTV campaign with insert and print media. That discussion will feature Mike Clark, a vice president with Fitness Quest, James Kushner, a vice president with Guthy Renker, and Marianna Morello, the president and chief executive officer of Manhattan Media. The panel will be moderated by Michael Feldstein, who joins us from Boardroom Inc.

Following the panel and leading up to Dr. Osborn’s keynote is Rob Balancia, a managing partner with G2, who talk about strategies for driving customers a marketer’s Web sites.

After a break, our afternoon will break out into a variety of roundtable discussions addressing key aspects of insert media. And we’ll wrap up the day with a reception beginning at 4:30 p.m.

I just wanted to say again how pleased I am to be here and to be able to play a role in the ongoing importance of this event. Attendance has increased every year, the quality of speakers and the material presented has reached a much more sophisticated level, and I think you’ll all agree that we’re now enjoying nicer surroundings.

So without any further adieu, I’d like to get the day started and introduce our first speaker, Kristin Sullivan-Stoesser.